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Study: Metabolic Syndrome Brings Big Costs
By LINDA A. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer/1 hour, 7 minutes ago/
Americans with metabolic syndrome ? a condition marked by big
waistlines, diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol problems ?
account for $4 of every $10 spent on prescription drugs for adults,
according to a study.
The report by Medco Health Solutions, a huge prescription benefit
manager, shows that adult use of medication for the syndrome jumped 36
percent between 2002 and 2004.
Annual prescription costs for people 20 and older with metabolic
syndrome averaged $4,116 last year, 4.2 times the average amount spent
on drugs for that age group, according to New Jersey-based Medco, which
released the data exclusively to The Associated Press.
Medco reached its findings by studying prescription records from a
random sample of 2 million clients.
Dr. Robert Epstein, Medco's chief medical officer, calls metabolic
syndrome one of the country's top five health problems.
The syndrome ? once called Syndrome X ? was first recognized about 40
years ago, but the term "metabolic syndrome" did not come into wide use
until the last decade. The first international symposium on the syndrome
was held three weeks ago in Berlin.
Metabolic syndrome is caused by the body's inability to use insulin
efficiently, and the hallmark of the condition is excessive abdominal
fat. Patients also have two or more related conditions, including high
blood pressure, low levels of good cholesterol, high levels of blood
fats called triglycerides, and high blood sugar. Many have diabetes or
will eventually.
People with metabolic syndrome as twice as likely to suffer a heart
attack or stroke and more than three times as likely to die early from
those causes.
According to various U.S. estimates, at least one in four adults and
roughly one in eight children have metabolic syndrome, with overeating
and inactivity being key causes.
The prevalence in people over 40 jumped more than 60 percent over the
past decade, federal health surveys show.
Dr. Stuart Weiss, director of the Diabetes Education Center at New York
University, said naming the syndrome has brought more aggressive
treatment for some patients and prevented cases of diabetes and heart
disease.
New guidelines from the International Diabetes Federation are being
reviewed by health agencies around the world to standardize the criteria
for diagnosing the condition and help family doctors spot the syndrome
and start treatment early.
"There aren't enough heart specialists and diabetes specialists to
handle all the cases worldwide," said Dr. Paul Zimmet, co-chairman of
the guidelines committee.
Medco is launching a service this summer to alert clients taking drugs
for multiple components that they should be checked for the syndrome.
___
On the Net:
American Heart Association:
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier534
Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The
information contained in the AP News report may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written
authority of The Associated Press.
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